'Loud and Clear': Washington Commanders Fix Their Super Bowl 'Methodology' Goof
Somebody inside the Washington Commanders organization, somebody knows right from wrong.
No, we're not talking about illicit front-office behavior, we're not talking about choosing a quarterback, and we're not even talking about "Commanders.''
The Washington franchise's championship seasons WERE NOT "1983, 1988 and 1992,'' as the new Commanders logo boldly states.
The Super Bowl championship campaigns - even though the games were actually played, according to the calendar, after Dec. 31 - were for the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons.
School children know this.
How does the team that actually captured these titles not know it? And why won't the powers-that-be simply admit and correct their foolish error?
“Well, the usual nomenclature for the Super Bowl championships is, ‘the 1983 Super Bowl champions were the Washington Redskins,’” team president Jason Wright said in a recent radio visit when quizzed by The Team 980 host Kevin Sheehan, who'd asked, "You guys got the championship seasons wrong, are you gonna fix it?”
Wright tried to argue, but Sheehan rightly stood his ground.
“No, it’s not ("the usual nomenclature''),” Sheehan said of the goof-up on the team’s new crest. “That’s not true.”
Wright tried again - by actually giving two vastly different answers.
On the one hand, Wright insisted Washington did it right, via "NFL annals.''
“That’s actually how it gets documented in the NFL annals,” Wright said. “We chose to go with the official way that it’s logged in NFL annals.''
Our reply: We have no idea what "NFL annals'' are. The 1985 Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl (even though the actual game was technically played in 1986.) The undefeated Miami Dolphins were from 1972, even though they won the Super Bowl a month into 1973. The Dallas Cowboys' 1990's run began with the 1992 team.
Do the Washington bosses really not know this?
Wright: "We thought it was consistent because the championships that predate the Super Bowls, those were played in the same year as the full season. And we wanted to be consistent across it.”
Our reply: Now we're nearing the truth. The bosses wanted to put a neat bow on the dates, even though - again, school children know - a neat bow cannot be accomplished here.
Wright: "It’s something that we can easily fix, we can easily fix it the next time we re-do the logo if fans prefer a different methodology.''
Our reply: If the "methodology'' used is wrong, it must be immediately changed.
About those "NFL annals'' ... In the section on History on the Commanders' official website (which we assume is information that's been passed down and updated throughout the decades, meaning it was first crafted by someone who gets it), it says: “In addition to NFL Championship Game victories in 1937 and 1942, the Washington Football Team have won three Super Bowls, culminating their 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons with Super Bowl titles.”
Because of course, that's what happened.
Which school children know.
Do the Commanders really want to pay tribute to the 1983 season when they lost to the Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII? Or the 1988 season when the club missed the playoffs altogether? Or what about the 1992 season when they lost to the 49ers in the Divisional round prompting head coach Joe Gibbs to retire (the first time) at the end of the season?
How does the Washington football team not know it? Why won't the bosses fess up? And why in the world won't the bosses fix it?
According to Richmond.com, the Commanders did try and fix their error by inputting the Roman numerals instead of the Super Bowl-winning years. However, the Commanders did not receive approval from the NFL to change the crest.
But, the third time was the charm for the Commanders.
The NFL approved the crest that featured the seasons in which the team won the Super Bowl, paying tribute to the 1982, 1987 and 1991 teams.
